Quiet
by MischiefMalfoys
Summary: It's Quiet in the common room and a lone figure sits in this silence, thinking about what he's been told to do. Will Draco figure out what choice he has to make? R&R.


**Yay! I finally finished it, my entry for the Harry Potter Fanfic exchange going on. I hope you enjoy reading it. It's also my first Harry Potter fanfiction that I've written, so please don't be too hard on me ^w^. Read and Review and Enjoy, people. ^^**

**Prompt: Draco's first alone moment after he finds out he needs to kill Dumbledore**

**Characters belong to the awesome J.K. Rowling~**

* * *

Quiet.

It was a quiet night inside the Slytherin common room. At eleven o'clock and at the beginning of the new school year, the normally full common room filled with students from first to seventh year cramming on the latest potions essay or studying late for the test the next day, was empty. A loud creak broke the calm silence as a shadow appeared, moving up from the steps that lead downstairs to the dormitories.

Draco emerged from the dark stairway, his pale face and light blonde hair standing out harshly from his dark surroundings. He was dressed in his pajamas, covered with his robe. He carried his wand with him, holding it tightly as if expecting an attack, but he didn't use it to light his way. Having spent 6 years of his life in this room, he knew where everything was by heart, finding his way towards the chairs circled around the fireplace with ease – Even in the dark. He sank down on the high-backed chair, eyes staring at the slightly live embers in the fireplace even though they were long since put out.

"Incendio," he whispered as he pulled out his wand, pointing it at the embers. A red spark flew out of its tip, flying towards the fireplace, igniting the embers. A reddish-orange glow filled the room as the fire continued to get stronger, mixing in with the room's peculiar green tint. Draco sighed through his nose, placing the wand on the small side table next to him as he leant forward, taking in the warmth that the flame emitted. His movements look almost automatic, as if his body was moving on its own while his mind was off somewhere else as he stared into the fire absent-mindedly.

Indeed, Draco was troubled. The dark bags underneath his eyes say it all – He hasn't had a goodnight's sleep in a few weeks. It was the same every night, even before he left for Hogwarts. He would lie down, try to sleep, and only get so far until his nightmares force him to get up again. Everytime he closed his eyes, he could hear it. So loud and eerily clear in his head. The hissing, serpentine voice saying only two words –

"_Kill Him."_

The blonde boy's gray eyes shot open at the sound of the voice. His head spun around, eyes wide with evident fear, looking for the source of the voice. Upon seeing nobody there, he gulped, trying to steady his own wavering breath. Once he had himself composed, he found himself staring back at the fire, afraid of closing his eyes again, fearing that the voice would come back to haunt him. Sure, he acted like he was proud of his new status as one of the few Death Eaters to be considered a part of the 'Inner Circle', and he was – At least until the Dark Lord gave him what would become his worst nightmare.

Breaking out of his trance, he shook his head for a moment. Shuffling slightly, he reached into his robe and pulled out a folded piece of paper and shakily unfolded it, his brow furrowing as he read the headline, written in gigantic bold letters.

**MALFOY'S FALL FROM GRACE! SENTECED TO AZKABAN FOR LIFE. WIFE, NARCISSA, AND SON, DRACO, ESCAPE TRIAL.**

His eye twitched, momentarily forgetting about his nightmares as he read it again. His gray eyes travelled down to the article written below it, but his mind didn't register anything that he read. Instead, each and every word seemed to jog memories of the last time his family was… together. And that was the day his father got sentenced to Azkaban for life. He tried to close his eyes, try and banish the memory from surfacing.

"_No… No… Lucius… Please, you can't – " _

He could hear his mother's broken sobs so clearly as the common room appeared to be disappearing around him, as if he was forcefully yanked back into that day. The second he opened his eyes again, he saw that he was still dressed in his pajamas, but was now back in the room where they were allowed to see his father before he was taken away. Draco felt his heart leap to his throat as he watched his mother – His beautiful, strong mother – Crying and pleading, holding on to his father as if he were her life.

"No you can't." Her voice was much clearer now, broken by sobs, "They can't… They can't send you to – Isn't there any other way to - ?!"

"There's nothing I can do about it, Narcissa…. There's nothing we can do." Lucius said, taking her face, cupping it in his hands. He pulled her closer to him, until their lips locked with each other's in a kiss. He pulled away first, looking like he was doing all he could to not shed tears, but Narcissa reached out, looking like a scared child when he pulled away. "I'm sorry…" he whispered softly as Narcissa became wracked with sobs again, "I'm sorry, Narcissa… I'm so sorry. I love you."

Draco looked away. The sight was too hard to take in. He could hear footsteps coming closer to him and he knew what was going to happen next. Looking back, he now saw his father standing in front of him, his hands on his shoulders, though they did not fully touch him.

"Be strong for your mother, Draco. And stay strong yourself."

_But I'm not, father. I can't._

"Continue studying hard… Do me proud son… And – Always be careful. Don't get into trouble."

_I'm in so much trouble right now I can't sleep. I'm all alone, father. Both your and mother's life depend on me. What do I do?_

The next thing, he knew would happen, was that his father would pull him into a tight hug, perhaps the tightest that he had held him all his life.

"I'm sorry Draco. I'm sorry."

Draco never said anything in reply that day and even now, he was at a loss. A large bang echoed in the room which made him remember the sequence which he would've much rather forgotten. His mother stood catatonic as a group of aurors appeared at the door.

"Time's up, Malfoy." One gruffly said. Draco watched as his father looked at him one last time before he saw the walls go up again. In an instant he turned from a man who was apologizing and even scared for a moment turn into the cold monster everyone knew. He turned from Draco, walking over to them.

"I'm here. Just take me and let my family go home." He spat at them. One auror growled, yanking him closer to them, grabbing his hands before clasping a cuff on them.

"Come on, let's go." They all turned, guarding him from all sides just in case he tried to do something rash. Draco wanted to stand up, scream for him or something but it didn't happen. He looked over, seeing his mother just frozen, her mouth hanging slightly open and it was only now that he realized that both her and his father were still looking at each other, having the silent conversation that nobody else picked up on. As soon as the door was shut, he cringed as he watched his mother crumble to the floor, letting out a heart-wrenching cry as she did so.

"_DO IT."_

The young Malfoy sat erect as the serpentine voice came back, pulling him out of his illusion. Looking around, he saw that he was now back in the common room and that nobody was there. He wasn't in the ministry of Magic, and he wasn't watching his mother cry or his father getting taken away. He rubbed his face, trying to tell himself that it wasn't real, that here at Hogwarts he was safe and that the Dark Lord couldn't reach him here. His hand unconsciously went to grab his left forearm, where the dark mark was burned onto his skin.

"_You have to do it, Draco. It's very simple."_

Draco could feel his breathing pick up again and sweat drip down his brow. The voice seemed real, frighteningly so, he could almost feel the cold billowing robes swishing around him.

"_It's either you kill Dumbledore or I kill you AND your family. A simple choice to make, don't you think?"_

"But you can't." Draco's own mind screamed, working against him, "You can't and you know it. You're too soft. You're no murderer, nor are you a match for Dumbledore himself – "

"But if I don't…" he mumbled, "Then I… We'll… Be killed by – No. No. I can't let that happen!"

He felt so lost, he almost wanted to just curl up and cry. His own mind was working against him and for once, Draco Malfoy did not know what to do. He wanted to be home, he wanted for someone to point out the way; he wanted someone else to volunteer to do the job. But who would? It was either him or nothing. Either he killed Dumbledore or Voldemort killed him and his family.

"_Kill Dumbledore…"_

In his confusion, he looked up, his mouth dropping and eyes widening when he saw that the Dark Lord himself appeared right before him. He tried to back away as his surroundings began to fade away again and morph into the Drawing room of the Manor. In clouds of smoke, several other death eaters began to materialize in the room too, looking at him with blank expressions. His breath got caught in his throat as his nightmare began to unfold. He was backed up to the wall; there was nowhere left to run.

"Or I kill them – " Voldemort's face split into a sinister smirk, stepping aside to reveal his parents being held down by two other Death Eaters.

"NO! PLEASE –" Draco pleaded, reaching forward.

"Have you made up your mind? You have until the count of three… One…"

"BUT I CAN'T!" Draco cried out hysterically, not able to hold himself anymore. "I CAN'T DO IT! I CAN'T!"

"Two…"

"PLEASE! I-I'll do anything other than that! O-Or at least kill me first! Kill ME first!"

"Time's up," Voldemort grinned sadistically, raising his wand. Draco lunged forward to try and stop the inevitable, but it was too late. The green flash had hit and two thumps were heard on the ground as the two bodies of his parents dropped down, dead.

"NO!" He screamed, looking at their dead forms, eyes still wide open, and the life drained out of them. He could feel the tears flowing down his cheeks, freezing when he realized that the wand was now pointed at him.

"You're next."

Draco opened his eyes, looking around fearfully, before realizing that the common room was back, and that he had slid off the chair. The fire had started to die down and so the common room was now darker than it was earlier. The young man picked himself up from the ground, tucking the paper clipping back into his robe. He sat on the chair, thinking hard about what his mind just made him see. He would not let that happen. He would die trying to kill Dumbledore before he would allow that to happen. Whether or not he was a killer right now, he had no choice but to force himself to become one.

He was quiet for a moment, before he stood up, his face full of a new resolve. The scared, confused child which entered the common room earlier had vanished - Or at least had been hidden for the meantime - replaced by a cold, determined killer. Picking up his wand, he pointed at the dying fire, muttering the Aguamenti charm. A jet of water shot out, putting out the flame completely, including the light and warm glow that it brought. He was not going to let anybody hurt his family. And if he needed to get rid of Dumbledore to keep them safe then so be it.

Pulling the robe closer to himself, he took a deep breath in, and began his way back to the dormitories. He had to figure out a way to carry out the murder cleanly and discreetly as soon as possible.

Draco had left and the common room was once again dark… And empty.

It was still and quiet…

Quiet.


End file.
